Bratislavia dadayi (Michaelsen, 1905)

Righi, Gilberto & Hamoui, Viviane, 2002, Oligochaeta, Naididae Of The West Indies And Adjacent Regions, Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 42 (6), pp. 119-167 : 124-125

Bratislavia dadayi (Michaelsen, 1905)

Naidium ( Nais ?) dadayi Michaelsen, 1905a: 355 .

Pristina unidentata Harman, 1973: 161 , fig. 2A-C; 1974: 17.

Bratislavia unidentata Harman & Loden, 1978: 541 , fig. 1A-D; Varela, 1984: 241, fig. 1a-g; Pujals, 1985: 209, figs. 14-19.

Material : Florida 001, 3 specimens . New Providence 548, 1 specimen .

Montserrat 839: 3 specimens. Habitat: Limnetic; salinity 0.03 %.

Distribution: North America ( Harman, 1973). Neotropical Region: Paraguay ( Michaelsen, 1905a). Argentina: Prov. Buenos Aires and Corrientes ( Varela, 1984; Pujals, 1985). Surinam ( Harman, 1974). Montserrat and New Providence (Righi & Hamoui).

Remarks: On confronting the descriptions of Naidium dadayi and Pristina unidentata we did not find any characteristic to separate them. On comparing our specimens with dadayi ( = unidentata ) we see they are differentiated by the teeth of the mid-body ventral setae; our specimens have a distal tooth which is considerably longer than the proximal one and dadayi has sub-equal teeth. We understand our animals are only a variation of dadayi because: 1) According to Michaelsen (1905a) in one specimen of dadayi the ventral setae of the last segments have their distal tooth distinctively shorter than the proximal one. 2) In every ventral bundle of VI and VII of our animals, the most ventral setae have similar teeth and the most dorsal ones have distal tooth considerably shorter than the proximal one.

The position of dadayi in the genus Pristina (= Naidium ) or in Nais is discussed by Michaelsen (1905a) and Stephenson (1923). Sperber (1948) refused its inclusion in Pristina and Brinkhurst (1971b) placed it as nomina dubia. Harman & Loden (1978), studying sexual specimens, remove Pristina unidentata to Bratislavia , enlarging the diagnosis of this genus erected by Kosel (1976). The enlarged Bratislavia is undoubtedly artificial because it congregates species with all similar ventral setae and species with the ventral setae suddenly changing the shape in VI, moreover species with dorsal setae starting in II and other with the setae starting in III. However, Bratislavia Kosel, 1976 (emend. Harman & Loden, 1978) is now the best genus to receive Naidium daday .